ludacris. >> it is draining police resources and led to a spike in crime. >> we deal with protests in the city, 2800 protests and special events a year. we do it every day and we did it every day before occupy came here. do we see things go up and down? absolutely. based on the time of year. but to blame that on occupy is crazy. >> though detectives are celebrating the lowest murder rate since 1963, certain crimes are on the rise. like sexual assaults, especially in ward 8 east of the river and robberies. >> if it's small, mobile, electronic devices, it's the hottest commodity on the market. if you look at total number of crimes that we capture, this is driving crime and the district of columbia. >> even though the homicide closure rate is at an impressive 94%. detectives are struggling to solve 37 cold cases and there are still two accused murders from this year out there on the

loose. >> we never give up. and we'll keep working those cases until we come to closure. we just ask the families to stay with us and have faith in us because i can tell you the team we have now is the best in the country. >> the mayor says because the team is the best in the country, the city is safer and proof of that, extra 17,000 people have moved into the district in the last 14 months and since that population has increased, the chief will redraw the police boundaries in the new year. anita. >> delia, thank you. now despite that good news, police are looking into a brazen kidnapping and sexual assault that started in the heart of penn quarter. a woman said it started at a traffic light. ken is live with more. ken. >> reporter: what makes this so shocking is this is a popular area. it happened last night at 7:30 on the 700 block. if you know the area, you know

it is directly in front of the verison center. as you can see, it's always packed out here. >> despite the heavy presence in the area. police say a man armed with a gun forced himself into the victim's car. the woman had her 15 month old child in the backseat when the suspect got in through the passenger side. detectives say the man forced a woman at gunpoint to drive to an unidentified area in d.c.'s fourth district. that's where they say he sexually assaulted her. the child was unharmed, but the woman was traumatized was able to call after the man took off. >> we are trying to sort out the exact facts of what happened. this is a traumatic incident for the woman and issues with interviewing someone right after the fact. >> police are hoping they can get more information on this suspect soon so they can continue to work more leads. right now, the description for the suspect is very vague. he is only being described as a black man who speaks with a southern accent. he had a medium complexion and a mustache.

anyone out there who may have seen something to give them a call. we are live in downtown. 9news now. >> okay ken. this is not only the last weekend of 2011, this is the last weekend before the first big contest of campaign 2012. the iowa caucuses come our way tuesday and emily schmidt takeses takes a look at what some of the candidates are doing to stand out. >> in the final days before the iowa caucuses, campaigning gets crowded. >> those regular folk, the potential caucus goers are harder to find in the media fray. >> come on in. >> but this push is important in a state where nearly all the candidates have been a front runner at some point. a new nbc news merit poll shows mitt romney and ron paul now within the margin of error. newt gingrich slipping. >> i'm with you. >> gingrich has been hit with negative ads. he says he is thinking of

disputing the claims by buying air time himself. candidates are also focused on endorsing. >> america is watching iowa. as we always do every four years. >> new jersey governor backed mitt romney in west des moines before romney left to campaign in new hampshire. ron paul is taking a break from the trail all together heading home to texas until monday. most of the other candidates get to keep them in iowa. in washington, i'm emily schmidt. >> virginia has an open primary. that means you don't have to put down your party affiliation. the republican party of virginia adopted a measure to secure votes for the november presidential elections. >> i'm surae chin in manassas where voters are scratching their heads over a loyalty oath pledge. >> i completely disagree with it. i think it's an outrageous thought. >> republican party of virginia wants voters to sign a loyalty oath pledge, meaning if you vote republican in the march primary in virginia, you promise to vote the same way in

november. >> how would you enforce something like that, other than someone's conscious. so again, you're talking about a slippery slope because marking ballots and that gets really dicey. >> i don't think we should be putting people into a position where their conscious says one thing and their actions may be going the other way. >> delegate robert marshall is going against his own republican leadership. opposing such a measure. >> i don't think this is a benefit to the republican party or to virginiaens in general. >> anything that will make you adhere to a choice without knowing the details and having time to research it, it would have a negative impact on what this country was founded on. >> in manassas, surae chin, 9news now. >> governor martin o'malley is making a purple line promise. the state is budgeting. it is the first state commitment to the proposed 16- mile light rail line between bethesda. it is slated to open in 2020.

hope you enjoyed the light traffic this week, because next week things will get busy. in virginia in addition to the regular return to work for folks, the mark center will be fully occupy. it is the new building off i- 395 at seminary road. that means all 6400 blows will have moved into that complex as part of the base realignment commissions plan. so expect some extra traffic in that area for sure. now to maryland where the state plans to install high-tech security systems at five toll bridges. this after taking a look at their vulnerability in terror attacks. the bridges getting upgrades are the chesapeake bay, the key, tidings. they'll be getting new cameras, lighting, and sensors. the work starts this winter to put those security systems in place. not every road hazard comes with the weather. foam created a blizzard on a

coastal road. that's foam. it made for a slippery drive. no accidents reported. that sort of condition happens when rough weather stirs up the stir off the english coast. fortunately, nothing like a blizzard coming our way, right anny? >> absolutely not. we're talking a mild new year's weekend before some crazy cold weather heads its way. current temperatures in the 50s and 40s. tonight, actually not too cold. i have your new year's eve forecast and your seven-day when i come back. thanks anny. there's a new toy out there and it's having some parents do a triple day care. why some parents say these babies have potty mouths and need to be pulled off the store shelves. that story is coming your way on 9news now at 7:00. >> can't wait to see that. get those party hats and horns ready. some last minute ideas on ringing in the new year. and just a day after announcing a new fee, verison responds to an outcry from its customers. we'll be right back with that.

wellwood and wusa9 salute all who serve at home and abroad this holiday season. >> hello, i'm jim wood. i'm currently serving in afghanistan. i would like to say happy holidays to my wife, sue, my daughters sarah and lauren in springfield, virginia, and all my friends. hope to see you soon.

new information from sears tonight about some of the stores it is planning to close. the company announced it would be closing up to 120 of its sears and k mart locations after holiday sales. 79 of those stores, one is in ellicott city, maryland. three are in virginia. the closest is richmond. sears is expected to announce the rest of the list early next

year. customers of verison wireless is for you. you spoke, verison listened. better yet, you listened and verison backed down. siting customer feedback, it is dropping the plan to charge a fee for paying bills on the phone or online. verison had planned to start charging its customers $2 for each transaction. opposing that fee. >> a $5 million lawsuit over an 80-cent refund is making the u.s. chamber of commerce. coming in at number 3, some young adults who sued their mom for sending cards without gifts and playing favorites. number two was a man who illegally brought a gun into a bar, got injured and sued the bar for not searching him for a weapon. at the top of this list, a convict who sued the couple he kidnapped for not helping him evade police. you can take a look at this entire crazy list at wusa9.com. just click on the buzz.

still ahead, they raised from the ridiculous to the remarkable. a look at the top videos that had us heading to youtube in 2011. first, let's get a preview of the cbs evening news. >> almost half of all iowa caucus voters are still undecided. we'll tell you about the last scramble for votes and what made newt gingrich cry today. tonight on the cbs evening news.

the washington, d.c. veteran's affairs medical center salute all who serve at home and abroad this holiday season. >> first class shaun white from virginia. sending holiday greetings to mom, dad, and all my family back at home. miss you, love you, can't wait to see you. >> in just under 30 hours, odds are, you'll be wishing someone a happy new year. do you have a set plan on how you are going to celebrate? lindsey mastis may have your answer in d.c. >> if you like playing games and you love seafood, you'll want to check out new year's eve right here at the blackjack

par and pearl dive oyster palace. there will be a raw bar and specialty cocktails. >> we'll be featuring a large selection of fresh shocked oysters. some other oyster preparations, including wood grilled oysters. we're also going to do sandwiches. pizzas made here. >> what makes this place special is this indoor court. tickets are $150 and you have to be 21. the goal is to ring in the new year as happy as a clam. back to you. >> now lindsey took us to maryland and virginia earlier this year for a new year's preview. you can see those reports and a list of other ideas at wusa9.com. if you're party plans include alcohol, don't get behind the wheel at the end of the night. you can call 1-800-200-taxi and get a free ride. the program sober ride service runs between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. every night through january 1. it covers the cost of a cab

ride up to $30. another big part of ringing in the new year is making resolutions. we asked the folks on our facebook page what their resolutions are and if they remember the ones from last year. don chimed in, posting i don't make them, i just always try to do better all the way around. happy new year. same to you, don, and you can all share your resolutions on our facebook page. for listening to this next story, we thank you in advance and we apologize for a little trickeration. are you a pet parent that has a guy nor mouse baby bump? and prepare to occupy the new normal. because to win the future, it will take a lot of shared sacrifice. with that, we covered all the words and phrases banned for 2012. the latest was put out every year by michigan's state superior of all those over used

phrases and words. most watched video on youtube in 2011 may not be on the list of things be banned. or maybe it will be. check it out. ♪ [ music ] that is 13-year-old rebecca black and her awful song, friday. it became popular because it is so bad, people had to show their friends what they were talking about. and that left it with more than 180 million hits. now to the second most watched youtube video. this one has people cracking up. >> you know that bacon that is like maple? maple flavoring. >> the maple kind, yeah. >> i took that out. i thought, i know who would like that. me. so i ate it. >> it's called ultimate dog tease. okay.

78million hits and it was done by a canadian voice over artist. if you haven't seen this whole thing, you have to. the whole family was cracking up. and family friendly. everyone can watch it. >> the canadian accent. all right, let's go to new year's weather. >> this new year's weekend looks fantastic. we're talking mild conditions. it will be breezy during the afternoon. but hey, for the end of december, this is a really nice looking forecast before the big changes come this way. here's a look at the national picture. the weather makinger right now is in the upper midwest and the great lakes region, you can see this area of low pressure spinning, bringing mostly rain. not cold enough to bring a lot of snow into parts of detroit, even cincinnati and chicago. it's mainly a rainmaker. in our area, we may get moisture tonight. so a slight chance for some late showers tonight and through tomorrow morning. but otherwise it should be a fairly, i would say mild night

where temperatures will not cool down a whole lot from these numbers you're seeing now. 48 in downtown. arlington 48. beltsville 45. annapolis in the mid 40s. a will the of us will get into the mid and low 40s overnight by early tomorrow morning. now, the next couple of days mild, then some crazy cold weather comes this way. tonight though, not as cold. saturday mild, but breezy. dry for your new year's eve party and get ready for some arctic air. i have been saying this the last couple of days. all right, here's a look at the temperatures. out to the far north and west. temperatures are cool at 43 in chicago. up to parts of north dakota, temperatures in the 30s. we'll get some of the cold air by monday and tuesday. right now our future cast showing us a slight chance for some late showers tonight and overnight into early tomorrow morning. then saturday morning, may see more showers out toward the coast and maybe the eastern shore. but again, very light and

presip, most people should be dry for saturday. it will be a brisk day with those wind gusts picking up. for tonight, mostly cloudy, not as cold. a lake shower possible. lows in the 40s. south wind at 5 to 10ment look at these lows. only 45 in downtown. 40 in winchester. easten, cambridge, mid 40s. so tomorrow morning, dress in layers as we'll warm up once again into the 50s. early shower possible. southwest winds at 5 to 10. afternoon, the gusts will be kicking up to 25 miles per hour. brisk, but mild day. 55 to 60 degrees. cumberland in the upper 40s. winchester mid 50s. hagerstown mid 50s. here's a look at your seven-day forecast. mild and brisk through sunday for your new year's day. good weekend to do some of the outdoor holiday cleanup. it will be mild. do it before the cold air comes in, especially by monday.

low 40s and look at tuesday and wednesday. those are our afternoon highs. only around freezing for tuesday. a little snow flake on there because a slight chance for some flurries. so, it's going to get cold. get the sweaters out this weekend. >> all right, it's also the time of year when the redskins have a lot of decisions to make. >> at quarterback in particular. decisions of plenty, i like to call it. the hot name out there. we saw him last night. hear what the shanahans say about franchise quarterback. hockey coming up, too. the caps had a bad tendency. can they change it? and lebron james assaults the rim and other players. i'll explain next in sports.

and now, 9sports with dave owens. the best sports in town. fascinating time of year because every pundent has an opinion. so, should they be willing to blow up their entire draft to land him? if the answer is no, then what? that answer may be more of that guy. he has proven one thing. when he gets it going, he can make things happen. he began evaluating ten to fifteen college quarterbacks. he likes rex's daring style, but -- >> everyone is looking for a franchise quarterback. you want one of those guys that there's no question about.

only about five or six of them in the league. and then there's a lot of guys that can play and some guys that need to be replaced. you are trying to find that one and still working to do it. >> wouldn't call that a ringing endorsement. maybe they go after robert griffin. threw for 295. ran for another 55 yards. two touchdowns. the team rolled up 67 points. part of the highest scoring regulation bowl game in history. afterwards, he is still not sure whether he is entering the draft. acc coach of the year. now a new five-year deal. his new annual salary, $2.1 million. and the school's first bowl game since 2007. caps back home tonight against buffalo. what to watch for? can they get out of that quick sand when which plagued them against the sabers? it's hard to explain. except the caps, a 9-3 goal advantage in two games. the last game was particularly forgetful. four goals in the first 15

minutes. some of the players called embarrassing. tonight, get his shot at slowing down the sabers. his team has to stop sleepwalking in period one. >> it killed us. you have to be aware of that in the first period. we have the better start and our pk has to be better. they scored a couple goals on the rush. >> all right, finally, lebron james has been tearing up the league. he can do anything. here's the other night. comes out, why? look at gerald henderson underneath the basket. the ball hits his head and comes out of the rim. no basket the referees say. >> oh no. >> lebron is high enough in the air to do that. and his head is high enough, that's crazy. >> crazy. he is a big guy. >> crazy good. >> that's all for 9news now at

6:00. stay with wusa9 for the cbs evening news next and derek is back at 7:00. have a go ahead night, everybody.